Tuesday 29 September 2015

Launching Celtic3d

I have been quite excited about the possibilities of 3d printing combined with my existing modelling work in Blender.  It would be possible to set up a virtual factory where items could be offered for sale and be printed on-demand.  At work I have been investigating cloud computing and how to deploy robust, scalable systems at low cost.  It seemed time to bring all these things together.


The idea:  Create a "virtual factory" where people could browse an online shop, purchase items that would result in an order being sent to a 3d printing bureau and the finished item sent direct to the customer.

The basic steps involved:
  1. Set up an e-commerce site to present products and take orders. (this is my day-job so no excuses for not getting this bit right).
    • register a domain.
    • select a host.
    • connect with payment services.
    • research and put in place regulatory (privacy) controls and T&Cs for the site.
    • connect to an e-mail service for customer notifications
    • sort out storage and backup, spam filtering etc.. 
  2. Target a market
  3. Produce some 3d designs to test that market
  4. Select and sign-up with on-line 3d printing bureaus
  5. Order some test prints to test quality and provide additional product photos for the site.
  6. Open the shop
So I did.   Take a look at celtic3d.com and let me know what you think?

http://www.celtic3d.com